snagitseven

I have been buying tires for over 40 years from all kinds of retailers (including TireRack, Goodyear, Discount Tire, the car dealer, independent tire shops, etc., etc.) and either I've been living in a cave or just plain ignorant, but I have never heard of these 2nd tier, 3rd tier designations by retuail channel type or anything about colored dots being inferior until this thread.

By these standards, one must also believe the Hamilton Beach coffee maker purchased on Amazon is an inferior product vs. one bought at Macy's for 20% more money.

Notwithstanding one's personal experience, I have a pretty good feeling that this is one of those internet legends alongside of Bigfoot, the Kennedy assassination conspiracies and nitrogen filled tires (heeeere we go...). For those who believe the tire claims discussed here are true, I guess the solution is paying more for tires.

superswiss

Didn't read every post in detail, but tires is a subject of great interest to me especially since I generally own performance cars. I've also ordered tires from TireRack for well over 10 years and never had any issues. However, I always buy the OE spec tires. In case of Audi that's AO and RO1. The latter is the Quattro Gmbh designation for RS/R spec tires. I'm currently on my third set of P Zero RO1 on my RS5. Each set was road force balanced and they perform equally well as the original set that came with the car. There are differences in tire construction, compound material and even thread design between the standard version of a given tire and the RO1, N and other designations for high performance vehicles. If you buy non AO tires in your case, I don't think it matters where you buy them from, they will be inferior. Stick with AO spec tires and if Tirerack doesn't carry them for your car then buy them from someone who does.

snagitseven

Well, what if you want a tire that Audi doesn't spec like the new Conti DWS 06 that I just bought? At that point I don't believe it makes any difference (if it even did in the first place). In any case, as I wrote previously, I've had tires that came on my brand new 09 A4 and 13 A6 straight from the Audi factory that were terrible. So I'll chalk this whole thing up to much ado about nothing.

superswiss

Then you basically don't know and it's up to you. The manufacturer designation on tires plays a more significant role in high performance tires. The lower you go in the tire category, the more it becomes a marketing gimmick. I spent quite some time on researching this topic. Basically manufacturers such as Quattro Gmbh, Porsche, Ferrari etc. they spend a lot of time on their performance vehicles tuning the suspension and the tire to achieve exactly the experience that they want to provide in a given car. The best example for how the designation matters is if you look at Ferrari spec tires. Pick any high performance tire that has a Ferrari spec version and notice how the Ferrari tire's thread depth starts at 7/32 instead of the usual 10/32. This is so that the tire has close to optimal handling characteristics from the get go. A tire at 10/32 needs to be worn in quite a bit before it handles optimally. Usually starting at around 7/32 to 6/32 is where a tire starts to feel right as far as dry performance is concerned.

OP was definitely on to something, but he came to the wrong conclusion. Let me be perfectly clear. An AO spec tire bought from Tirerack is the exact same tire quality that the Audi factory gets. Same goes for N in case of Porsche, RO1 in case of Quattro Gmbh etc.

Kbrookings

My 2015 S8 arrived with Dunlops and one was out of round. First few thousand miles I had them all re-balanced on the Hunter Road-Force machine. And two dealers assured me the tires were just fine. Finally figured it out and put on a set of Michelins. So much better! A different car.

RED HORSE

Way back in the beginning of this thread I opined that an "N" rated tire from Tire Rack was just as good as any "N" rated tire purchased at the dealer. My suspicion is the op has purchased tires carrying the same trade name but not "AO" spec. In that case I'm not surprised he has found these tires unsatisfactory. Just because they have the same trade name and casually look the same, if they don't carry the "N" or "AO" then they aren't the same tire.

superswiss

Exactly right. The main purpose of the N, AO, RO1 etc. designation is to identify the exact replacement tire for what ships from the factory. These are exactly the same tires the factory puts on the car. It doesn't mean that an AO spec tire is inherently better or worse. All it says is that it was manufactured to Audi's requirements in this case whatever that means, and if you buy an AO spec tire you can trust that it is the same tire the factory puts on. A tire w/o a designation isn't necessarily worse, but you just don't know. It's whatever the tire manufacturer wants it to be and the particular tire could have failed higher standards and is therefore sold cheaper through a discount outlet. Generally, you get what you pay for.

superswiss

OP,
FWIW, Tirerack lists three 20" OE tires for your car, but only the P Zero is actually AO spec.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/TireSe...nLoadRating=XL

snagitseven

I believe a Michelin, Conti, Bridgestone or any brand or model tire without a designation sold at Tirerack is the same tire sold at Sears or any brick and mortar tire chain. Tirerack prices are typically lower because they work off smaller gross margins like any other internet retailer due to lower overhead. No different than Amazon selling a camera at a lower price than Best Buy. Same tire, same camera.
While the AO designation may be to Audi's spec, that doesn't necessarily mean it's a better tire as I have experienced first hand. Those who believe otherwise, fine.
(Note that I'm not speaking to those high end performance tires i.e. for the RS5 or a Ferrari). 'Nuff said by me.

snagitseven

Well, I lied. One more post by me and I promise I'll go away (from this thread at least)..

I just had mounted a new set of Conti DWS 06 from TireRack which are the new version of the older DWS. I noted no colored dots but there may have been some before the Audi dealer tech mounted and balanced them.

After a 100 mile run of up to 80 mph, I can report that, so far, these are smooth as silk with no vibrations or shakes whatsoever. They are also quieter than both the Audi supplied Pirelli P-Zero (I assume AO), which I removed and sold for a set of Bridgestone RE970AS, also from TireRack, which were mounted 3 years and 35K vibration free miles ago. I'm liking these better than either the Pirellis or even the Bridgestones which were a very good tire.

Score another win for me from TireRack and their "non AO, inferior, tier 3" tires.